Magico S5's in the house...
- Thread starter MadFloyd
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No preference, Keith. That is why I wrote ".../Transparent or other/"....
I happen to own one brand, and Mafloyd owns the other. That example was for illustration only. They also happen to be the two brands that I heard the other day hooked up to Madfloyd's Magico S5 speakers during our listening session, and as I wrote, inserting one rather than the other, changed the overall sound quite dramatically.
Maybe Madfloyd could comment about whether the cable switches were more or less apparent when he compared the same two cables with his Wilson Alexia. If the cable differences were equally obvious with the Alexia, then I am perhaps mistaken about Magico's high degree of transparency relative to other speaker brands.
I also think Magicos can sound that way on Soulution, Spectral, etc. as we discussed in Newport. I'm craving to hear Dart/Magico which apparently is not
I always thought the "blame" for that thin, "soulless" sound lies with the electronics, and not with the speaker. I did AxB Soulution and darTZeel amps, on Magico Q7, and the difference was very obvious. But yeah, if all your heard is Magico paired with these brands, I can totally see people not liking them, or thinking they're "soulless"...
Anybody heard a Magico paired with one of those AR 75W amps that are all the rage these days?
alexandre
I think folks who like Sonus Fabers, Harbeths, Devores, Audio Notes, etc. will always think a Magico as soul-less.
I also think Magicos can sound that way on Soulution, Spectral, etc. as we discussed in Newport. I'm craving to hear Dart/Magico which apparently is not
I also found that DartZeel and Magico sound great, but the NH108B really needs an efficient speaker.
It seems that Magico S5's sound soul-less with amplifiers having a high damping factor, that claim superiority in the measurements field, and sound great with an amplifier having a 0.3 ohm output impedance that will tailor its frequency response. Myles cj's have an output impedance around 1.5 ohm, they should sound great with the ARC tubed units.
Well the part that always brought issue to that hypothesis is that Alon uses Soulution and Spectral at the factory.
Cable changes were equally audible with the Alexia. Both are very revealing speakers imo.
In fact, the more I play around with the S5, the more I hear common elements between the two speakers - one of these being how easily I can hear differences in the chain.
I wonder how much of that has to do with the Magico dealer network. Quite a few of them carry Solution, Spectral and Constellation.
I've also seen other brands in photos of the factory listening room. One recent photograph taken by a visitor shows the mighty Ultimate 3 with the new Pass XS pre on the rack. I could not identify the amps, but they did not look like Solution or Spectral. They might well be Pass' FirstWatt amps that were also used in Munich. My impression is that Magico speakers (with the exception of the U3) prefer lots of clean power. Solution and Spectral provide that as well as some other brands.
I can hear the differences between cables on my son $600 JBL monitors. That does not make then transparent... Or does it?
We should be careful - some people (with whom I disagree...) will say that if cables change the sound of a speaker it means that either the cables or the speaker (or both) are not competently designed.
and the speakers? This was a lively topic that you started, why has it gone dry?? I can’t help noticing that WBF has gone dry with some members disappearances. Not good business, maybe too much moderation?
Hey MadFloyd, I think the reference on putting $100K into a 'better listening environment' was more from a pure audiophile perspective...namely being able to build a custom, acoustically treated room (zeroing in on the old adage that the room is the biggest influence on sound).
I like listening in our living room as well, which is also where we have a big desk where I work so that we can enjoy music all the time. But I know its a good room, but definitely not a custom, acoustically designed room.
Well I more or less wanted to make sure I got a good feel for the S5's before I posted any more impressions. I knew I needed to experiment with placement and I did want to go back to my Alexias to confirm the differences that I thought I was hearing. I'm stil playing with speaker placement to some degree and I haven't went back to my Alexias. I had a friend help me move them out of the room and I can't move them back on my own. I keep putting it off. If they were still in the room I would have gone back a while ago.
What I feel I have learned is that both speakers share some common ground. Both are excellent products and capable of great sound when setup correctly. Both have their advantages. Both allow me to hear the differences between electronics, cables and power related gear. The Alexias have a bigger scale and a stronger sense of power. The S5's are more restrained. Both can be fatiguing when not setup well. I prefer a sub with the S5's (even though I have two, I've only hooked up one so far).
With both speakers I hear some artifacts that are identical - that tell me the issue is not with the speakers themselves, but somewhere else in the chain, setup, or the room itself. I feel I hear less artifacts with the S5's. I feel the S5's are little more neutral, perhaps a little more clinical. I often turn the volume up much louder with the S5's to try and manufacture some presence and scale. I wish there were larger Magicos in the S series.
There are some intruments that I prefer on the S5's - like classical guitar, clarinet, orchestral cymbals & vocals. Rock sounds more 'live' and in-the-room with the Alexias. I'm not thrilled with violin on either speaker (which probably says something about either my expectations or a problem elsewhere in my system). Black Sabbath on the Alexias rule.
Yep, I can't disagree that a better room would lead to much better sonics, but I love how great it sounds from the kitchen - where I do a fair amount of listening (while preparing dinner etc). It would be hard to go give that up.
Wilson Alexia vs. Magico S5 is a lively topic, here and on other forums and makes for an interesting thread.
Why people seem to have left WBF is also an interesting discussion but is a bit off topic for this thread. I'll just add that I've noticed that when people post opinions which are contrary to the majority opinion, or to that of some vocal advocates, the comments and tone take a turn for the worse. I remember when I posted my opinions about trying Stillpoints under my speakers and the following responses were about how and why my testing methods were flawed. It became a blame the messenger rather than the message thing. There was little acceptance of a different opinion or result. The forum seems less welcoming and open minded than it once did, and I think people are moving on.
Sorry, Ian. Back to the topic at hand. I kind of like Ian's listening environment also. Sure, a dedicated room often results in better overall sound, but Ian and his family enjoy sharing the music throughout the lower level of his house and while entertaining guests. This is a compromise that many music lovers make.
The current sound with the S5 and Pass gear is very, very good, IMO, and it is a joy to be in the room.
Agree...if we ever got a 'dedicated room'...I suspect it would be still something that opens out into the living room for everyday, and only closed doors when family is sleeping.
... I'm not thrilled with violin on either speaker (which probably says something about either my expectations or a problem elsewhere in my system). Black Sabbath on the Alexias rule.
What is it about violin that you don't like on either S5 or Alexia? Curious.
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